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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enigma wrapped in a riddle; the ideal alternate history, October 20, 2003
Christopher Priest's "The Separation" breaks from the standard Alternate History templates in almost every way possible, and as a result, is superb addition to the genre. I say this because unlike most alternate histories, which focus on story (specifically timeline) to the exclusion of plot and character development, Priest has taken the opposite approach and written a novel that explores ideas and reality within the framework of an alternate history. His world is a tool (albeit a fascinating, well realized one) used to highlight certain salient elements of his narrative. Moreover, Priest leaves his world ambiguous and oddly uncertain.This uncertainty begins with the opening pages of the novel, which at first strike the reader as relatively standard alternate history. It is the early twenty-first century in a world where Britain and Germany signed an armistice in the spring of 1941. Priest quickly frames a believable alternate world without bogging down in the details, and the novel seems set to follow the researches of one Stuart Gratton into the origins of this early peace. Intriguing yes, but hardly surprising or unique for an alternate history. However, that quickly changes as Gratton comes into possession of diaries that reveal the story of an RAF bomber pilot, and it quickly becomes clear that these diaries detail the events of our own world. Thus begins a narrative that weaves back and forth across itself. Through the fascinating lives of J. L. Sawyer, twins who share the same initials, the reader is constantly left wondering what is real and what is imagined. Considering that the reader actually knows which story is true, this is a remarkable accomplishment, and speaks highly to Priest's substantial abilities as a writer. To delve more deeply into the plot would risk spoiling it, but there are numerous elements to this novel that are worth mentioning. The first is it's presentation; Priest deftly switches from the third to the first person, and often interjects "historical" letters and documents to flesh out the narrative. While in less capable hands, this would come across as contrived, here it succeeds nicely in separating the lives of the Sawyer brothers. Which brings us to the literary device of the twins; again, in less capable hands, they could come across as hackneyed, but carefully handled, as they are here, they are an essential and fascinating plot element. Aside from the broadly recognized, if not fully appreciated, bond between twins, Priest explores even deeper elements. His twins, despite being two people seem to be bound to only one destiny. Each has his preferred path, but they are mutually exclusive, and immutable. This tension, although never explicitly stated or explored, informs the entire novel, and is key to Priest's ability to keep the reader wrong-footed for quite literally the entire novel. Finally, this question of destiny brings us to the book's consideration of reality. At times Priest seems to verge on the "multiverse" approach found elsewhere in science fiction; in other words, his world and our own are not exclusive but just two of innumerable possible worlds. Ultimately, however, he backs away from this approach; while not a proponent of predestination, he views history as a force that can be diverted but never meaningfully altered. In this specific instance, he uses Hess, Churchill and other real people to illustrate that other outcomes, no matter how strongly desired, aren't plausible in the face personalities, circumstances, etc. If I am correct in this reading, it has fascinating implications for the entire structure of the book, to the point that in a manner of speaking the book ceases to exist for the characters once it has been read in its entirety. I used the word "if" above for two reasons; the first is that while I am confident in my reading, I can't state conclusively that I am correct. The reason for this hesitation is the second reason for using "if": this entire novel is about "ifs". The story crosses back upon itself countless times, and the reader is constantly left to question what is consequential and what is insignificant. By exploring the alternative paths available, Priest highlights the one that actually was followed to great effect; it is easy to assume that the world would have been a better place absent World War II, but what would the implications of such a peace have been? Blending elements of convergent and divergent history, not to mention secret history, Priest has produced a remarkable novel. His world is tremendously detailed without being overly expository, and his writing posits a host of intriguing questions. Where "The Separation" truly shines though is in its consideration of our humanity. Priest uses his world to explore our hopes, aspirations and desires. Moreover, by deliberately fracturing and blurring the narrative, he calls into question reality itself even as he brings into stark relief the implications of our actions. A novel rich in ideas, beautifully conceived, superbly executed and brilliantly written, "The Separation" is not to be missed. Jake Mohlman
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christopher Priest is BACK!!!, June 17, 2006
I discovered Christopher Priest in a used bookstore in the form of a slim paperback novel entitled The Glamour. Since then, having read most of his work, the only two books by Christopher Priest I did not thoroughly enjoy were The Prestige and Extremes. Because those two novels are the immediate predecessors of Separation, it was with some trepidation that I undertook to read this book, whereof now I speak.
Forgive the digressive introduction, but I believe it's appropriate to invoke Priest's earlier work, specifically The Glamour. As regards the Separation, the rare, if not unique, literary device deployed in these two novels is quite similar. The same events are recounted in two separate narratives which are radically different both in perspective and in historical context. Unlike the Glamour, Separation is not merely an impressive display of literary sleight of hand, but rather a very complex and very daunting puzzle.
Having read the Separation I completely concur with Mohlman's analysis. This book cannot be understood or explicated without a very big "if." We begin with an alternative history wherein World War II lasted only one year, due to the actions of one Joe L. Sawyer on behalf of the International Red Cross in forming an armistice with Germany. We, also begin with identical twins with the same initials (J.L. Sawyer) who play radically different roles and are obliged to radically different commissions in this scenario, formulating the respective narratives. We are then introduced to several subplots which allude to identical twins or dopplegangers deployed by Winston Churchill, on behalf of himself and Rudolph Hess (or perhaps vice-versa). These subplots seem to build to a very intricate climax.
The way this story ends seems to cut off all of these possibilities which are present in both narratives. The final chapter may be genius or may be a cop out. Still, this is not disappointing because, "if" I'm reading it correctly it is quite literally "the end." If not of the story in regards to the characters, then of the characters in regards to the story. Or, of the reader in regards to both.
It is interesting to note that there is an American Comic book writer who calls himself Christopher J. Priest. Many bibliophiles still believe that the British novelist, Christopher Priest, moonlights for Marvel Comics and pens "Green Lantern." Winston S. Churchill might have something to say about this.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So much to think about!, July 26, 2006
Christopher Priest proves himself a verbal M. C. Escher with "The Separation." Like Escher's famous "Moebius Strip," this book's "beginning" and "end" are inextricably twisted and bound together. Like the woodcut "Circle Limit (Heaven and Hell)," the characters are angels when looked at one way and devils when another. Like the lithograph "Ascending and Descending," the plot steps from a curious "present day" back to World War II days and forward again on a trick staircase. Like the wood engraving "Whirlpools," dichotomies such as twins and doubles whirl about each other illusively to propel story.
"The Separation" is a thinking person's book. Also a history buff's. And an alternate history fan's. It is rich in detail about the war we understand to be history, yet manages to stuff an entirely Other Outcome into the tale as well. Priest creates renditions of real historical personages like Winston Churchill and Rudolf Hess that merge mysteriously with their phantoms and doppelgangers. Meanwhile the brothers Joe and Jack, whose memoirs/journals provide the bulk of the novel, make the reader muse a time or two whether both "really" exist...or just one who's cracked in the head (literally and psychically) while the other is his shadow self.
For anyone who lived through the European War of the 1940s or anyone who had relatives who did, "The Separation" is also a vivid and heart-wrenching reminder of the terrible civilian toll inflicted by both sides with calculated, brutal city bombing, among other desperate acts of wartime.
The sections written from a pacifist's point of view ringingly declare that war never truly solves humanity's problems, a sentiment real human beings dismiss too quickly. Here is part of one heartfelt speech: "...[A]lthough a war can be fought for what is believed to be an honourable reason, such as with the intention of forming a peaceful society, the war itself, by causing so much death and destruction, defeats its own object. Human suffering, pain, misery, separation and bereavement are inevitable when wars are fought. Violence, when opposed by other violence, creates a set of circumstances in which more violence will inevitably follow. Revenge, retribution and reprisal become predominant in people's minds. They seek to hurt others because they themselves have been hurt." (p. 184)
The same (i.e., that nothing is solved) may also be said of Priest's book: nothing is definitively nailed down as verifiable, as the truth of history. Instead, we get something like Escher's "Bond of Union," - where two alternate histories and two brother's lives unwind and atomize around each other and into the atmosphere. Such is the tantalizing lure of this astonishing and awesome work of fiction.
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